On Storing Milk

Dry milk may be stored up to one year at a temperature of seventy degrees Fahrenheit, or for two years at forty degrees. Storage areas for most foods should be cool, dark, dry, and ventilated. Noninstant milk retains its flavor and stores better than instant milk. If you purchase dry milk in fifty-pound bags, repackage it in smaller, moisture-proof containers of metal or glass that will hold one- to four-weeks’ supply. Five-gallon cans also make good storage containers if the lids fit tightly, keeping out insects and moisture. Milk will not keep as long at higher temperatures, so do not store it by the furnace or in a warm room. Dry milk in glass bottles should not be exposed to fluorescent lights, as they hasten rancidity.

At forty degrees Fahrenheit and lower, canned evaporated milk will keep up to one year. Turn the cans (or the whole case) over each month. If the milk in a can appears lumpy and watery due to separation of solids, do not throw it away. Shake the can vigorously and it may become smooth again. (Canned milk gets a strong flavor and dark color during long periods of storage. Don’t use it if it has been stored much longer than a year and shows considerable quality loss.)

In a good food storage program, all foods are rotated in normal usage, and new case lots or cans are added as the older ones are used. To store nonfat dry milk just in case of an emergency instead of constantly using and rotating the supply is wasteful. The quality slowly deteriorates during storage time. LaVell Turner, La Verkin, Utah (former instructor in Food Science and Nutrition, Brigham Young University)